You Are Pulled From The Wreckage
by Mistress Reigns
Summary: Taking them to the Humane Society is out simply because the place is crowded far too much as it is, and there isn't anyone he knows who would welcome two cats. It takes only seconds for him to realize he has to keep them and then he scowls at them. Of all things for Kane to do to him, saddling him with two animals because of a joke hardly seems like a fair route to take.


Giving pets as presents is one of the rudest and most thoughtless ideas anyone has ever come up with. That's why, at first, Taker is pretty sure the basket is just a colossal joke of his brother's.

_Too many jokes about him being the Authority's bitch for his taste,_ Taker thinks as he watches the two furry creatures roam around the living room, sniffing everything in sight. And Kane's idea for revenge is hardly a bad one. Taker isn't an animal person and so dumping two overgrown kittens on him is definitely a decent way to pay him back for what he said. Even worse is that he won't just ditch them on the side of the road like so many other people do.

Taking them to the Humane Society is out simply because the place is crowded far too much as it is, and there isn't anyone he knows who would welcome two cats. It takes only seconds for him to realize he has to keep them and then he scowls at them. Of all things for Kane to do to him, saddling him with two animals because of a joke hardly seems like a fair route to take.

He digs up a pad of paper and his cell phone, sending a message off to Roman Reigns about what he'll need to take care of the damned things. Considering Reigns drags along a pair of kittens with him wherever they travel to, Taker is pretty certain the guy knows how to take care of them. And he has to actually purchase things to keep the cats at least content enough to leave him alone.

A chorus of squeaking mewls makes him glance up from his phone, noting the fact the black kitten has jumped up onto the coffee table and is using the corner of a book to scratch his cheek. The brown, on the other hand, is threading around the coffee table legs and meowing up at the black one. They couldn't be more different if they tried. The brown kitten has shorter fur and is all around bigger and bulkier while the black kitten has longer fur and is smaller, a little more compact. It's like Kane shopped for two animals that would present a contrast.

The black one must feel his eyes because it looks over at him silently before bounding off of the table and trotting over to him. Not that Taker invited it to join him or anything, but he doesn't knock the kitten off when it climbs up his leg to sit on his lap, peering up at him inquisitively.

Petting it will only encourage it to keep this behavior up, but Taker doesn't want the animals to be alienated or afraid so he offers his hand to the small creature. Its nose is warm and velvety while it sniffs his fingers before mewling softly and scrubbing its cheek against his skin. Sighing softly, he smoothes his hand down its back and notes how it pushes up into his hand.

"You can't stay," he says even though he knows he doesn't have a choice when it comes to keeping them. "Well, I guess you two need names if you're going to end up staying here."

While he waits from a text from Roman, he peruses a few name websites and settles on the names for the two of them. Viktor is the kitten curled up in his lap, basking in the pleasure of being pet, while Konnor mills about by his feet, watching him—or more likely watching Viktor.

As soon as Taker sets his phone down, though, Konnor leaps up into his lap and starts sniffing him, then nosing at Viktor until the black ball of fur snuffs and swats at his face. There's a companionship between the two of them that leads Taker to believe they must have either been friends prior to now or they came from the same litter. After all, there seems to be no hard and fast rules when it comes to the genetics a litter of kittens ends up with.

Konnor takes to giving Viktor a bath, smoothing his long fur down with a sandpapery tongue while Taker switches to scratching under his chin. Every time he tries to pet any other part of the smaller cat, Konnor yowls at him and swats at his fingers with needle claws until he moves it away. Only when Konnor has finished is Taker allowed to start petting Viktor again and he wonders if maybe Konnor is a little possessive of his little kitten buddy.

Which doesn't bode well for whatever past they had prior to now. Leave it to Kane to pick up two ragtag strays or orphans and drop them off at his door. _Damn_ the man and his plotting.

His phone vibrates and he stops petting Viktor to pick it up, opening the text from Roman with dull surprise. _Take a picture. I want to see them._ He sighs and snaps one, both kittens peering up if only because they haven't seen a phone before, but it does make for a rather nice shot.

Not that he can get another because Viktor leaps down onto the floor and starts nosing around again, batting at things with small black paws until he seems rather sure of his surroundings. Konnor, on the other hand, doesn't just stay put. He sprawls across Taker's lap and makes himself comfortable, licking one paw and rubbing it over his face. Chuckling softly, Taker smoothes a hand down his side and just leaves it there, feeling his breathing.

He's not a cat person. He isn't an animal person _period,_ but if he ever slipped up and decided to buy one, he always planned on a dog. A big one, preferably, that can function as a pet and as a guard system should anyone try to get in the house. Instead, he's sitting here watching one cat wind himself around the leg of the coffee table while he feels the other one breathing slowly and evenly beneath his hand. His brother is an evil genius. No doubt about that now.

His phone vibrates and he looks down at the message from Roman. _Absolutely beautiful._ No doubts there. Wherever these cats came from, they are gorgeous animals.

Now if only he knew where the damned animals came from in the first place.

After Roman sends about a million messages about what to do for the cats, Taker finally snaps and calls Kane, waiting for his brother to answer. Much as he just _loves_ to play guessing games, now is not the time and Roman mentioned one of his kittens having nightmares; what if one of his has been through something similar? He already more or less figured out he can't just get rid of them, so the chances of him taking them back to wherever they came from are slim. Even if they came from a breeder or something, which he doubts, that's too much trouble to go to.

_"Hello, Taker."_ Kane's voice is darkly amused and Taker grits his teeth because he can just imagine his brother's smirk and it makes him want to punch that smirk right off of his brother's face. _"Did you get my present? I thought you might enjoy a little companionship."_

"You are an ass, but this isn't about you. Where did these two come from?" Viktor chooses this moment to meow and Kane's chuckle says he heard it loud and clear.

There's a pause before Kane speaks again. _"House fire. Don't ask because you don't want to know. I heard them inside and got them out in time. Yet again, don't ask."_

"I don't want to know so I won't." Konnor mewls and Taker runs a hand down his side without thinking about it. "They could have burned to death. You could have let them."

_"Give me some credit. Even I'm not that bad,"_ Kane says.

Taker smirks and shakes his head. "I know you're not. But… Expect _repayment_ as soon as I have the time to arrange some. And I assure you I will arrange some."

He hangs up the phone and sets it back down on the arm of the chair just in time for Viktor to jump back up in his lap and crawl on top of Konnor, more or less sleeping on top of him. Konnor grumbles and shifts a bit until Viktor settles down, then leans his head up to lick the smaller kitten on the nose before closing his eyes once again. Distracted by the overwhelming cuteness, it takes Taker a minute to realize the damned things have trapped him in his chair.

Sighing, he starts going through Roman's messages again, trying to absorb some of the information as he sifts his fingers through first Viktor's fur, then Konnor's. Things could be worse. These two might be dead right now if not for Kane's decision to pull them out of the house before it burned. And Taker isn't the _worst_ owner they could have gotten.

Maybe they can make this work out after all.

* * *

_**A/N: I love Viktor and Konnor with a burning passion and I just think that Taker would be the perfect owner for them if they were kittens. Because come on. Think about it.**_


End file.
